Is this really a Game?!

The obsidian table groaned under Reign's grip. Cracks spiderwebbed outward as the image of the Ascendancy's horned commander burned into his retinas. The sheer audacity of a third power carving its mark over New York's corpse, after vampires and the many monsters and bandits had already bled it dry, ignited a cold fury in his veins.

"Three powers," Reign stated, his voice unnervingly calm despite the pressure radiating from him. "Vampires holding the remains of your base, Amelia. This 'Ascendancy' carving their spire into Central Park. And a dragon playing kingmaker in the ruins." He released the table, leaving deep impressions of his fingers. "And where does that leave us?"

Elijah pointed to a cluster of blue markers surrounding Doncaster and Wilkashere on the holographic map. "We hold these territories. Barely. The Golden Tree's shield is the only reason we're not ash. The Ascendancy probes it weekly, testing for weaknesses. The vampires send their… pawns." His voice hitched on the last word, the memory of mind-controlled allies twisting his features. "The dragon ignores us, for now. Its territory is north, centered around Columbia University. Its followers – monsters and desperate humans – clash with both vampires and Ascendancy patrols. It's chaos, but that chaos is our shield."

"We have lost every territory in New York, in fact, most human forces of the city had either joined one of the two factions, namely the dragon or the vampires, as the Ascendancy doesn't really 'recruit' anyone, they just take them, and nobody knows what happens to them."

"My old base?" Jin asked, his voice calm as Neil shook his head.

"I see, so all our efforts into taking over the bases and creating a foothold for us in New York has been wasted thanks to our disappearance." Jin said with a sigh as he sat down, staring at the table.

Laura leaned forward, her demonic energy making her eyes glisten. "This brainwashing. The vampires' control. How absolute is it?"

Neil answered, his voice gravelly with fatigue and suppressed rage. "Total physical control. Victims see, hear, feel everything they're forced to do. They scream internally while their bodies butcher their friends. The Serpent's alchemists perfected it. We've found no way to break it mid-combat. The only release…" He trailed off, the unspoken death hanging heavy in the air.

"But, since the boss was not here, we were not entirely sure, after all, your powers might work, we have no idea whether their control is rooted in the soul of the people, so there is a chance that you could perhaps bring them back."

Wolf slammed a fist, violet flames briefly wreathing his knuckles. "And the bastards behind it? The Serpent Lords? The head vamps?"

"They hide," Faramis spat, his eyes like chips of obsidian. "Deep in fortified nests, guarded by legions of their Reaper abominations and controlled humans. The Ascendancy smashed some nests early on, but the core leadership remains. They're rats, burrowed deep."

A flicker of movement drew Reign's eye. The avatar of the Golden Tree shimmered beside him, its translucent form radiating waves of profound sorrow and weary defiance. It placed a small, cool hand over the cracks Reign had made in the obsidian. Images flooded Reign's mind – not words, but sensations: the bone-deep thud of Ascendancy siege engines hammering the shield, the chilling scrape of Serpent claws against its roots, the agonized psychic scream of controlled humans dying against its protective barrier. Seven months of relentless siege, sapping its strength, leaving it vulnerable. Wronged. It hadn't just missed Reign; it had been fighting a war alone.

Reign placed his hand over the avatar's, a silent vow passing between them. No more.

His gaze swept the room – the hardened faces of his returned team, the weary resolve of Neil, Elijah, Cameron, the smoldering fury of Faramis and Amelia. "Alright. Seven months of hell. We weren't here. That changes now." He stood, the air crackling with his decision. "Elijah, Neil – maintain defenses. Prioritize rest rotations. Our people are exhausted."

"We have just entered the Power Realm, but our arrival makes it so that the total number of Tier VII combatants in the territory has more than doubled, with such power, how do we stand against the other 3?"

"Well … against the dragon, we are still behind, after all, it is a Tier VIII monster, the only monster of such power that we know of, fighting against it would be suicide, even with all of you present." Elijah said, prompting Reign and the others to take in a cold breath.

Tier VIII.

One had to know that until now, Reign and the others didn't have any issues finding suitable opponents for them to fight against and level up quickly in the many regions around them, but starting from Tier VII, it was incredibly difficult to do the same.

There were not that many Tier VII beings on Earth right now. Even though Elijah and the others had managed to reach that realm, they were the only ones so far.

Ashley, Elijah, Neil, and Cameroon were the only Tier VII combatants of Doncaster. There were others who had reached the peak of Tier VI but were still not good enough to take on a challenge, and there were many more who were only able to slowly level up after reaching Tier VI as their latent talent had been used up, and their bodies needed some time to adapt after every couple of level ups.

"Both the vampires and the Ascendancy are lead by a peak Tier VII combatant, and they have multiple such individuals beneath them, with the vampires having an advantage there as they have more Tier VII combatants, but there are a bit weaker compared to the Ascendancy on the average."

"What are their numbers?" Wolf asked Elijah who sighed in response.

"The vampires have a total of 14 Tier VII individuals right now, a couple have recently reached the realm, but half of them are mid and high-grade Tier VII combatants."

"The Ascendancy has a total of 8, half are mid-grade, the other half are high-grade."

"That doesn't include their leaders, who are the only peak Tier VII combatants in both factions." Elijah spoke clearly before taking a glance at the map and continuing to speak.

"The dragon's followers are the most diverse, having plenty of different humans and inteligent monsters amongst them. To be honest, the structure of their faction and the members are a lot like ours, we've had multiple contacts with the faction in recent months, some were positive, some ... not that much."

"What do you mean by that?" Shadow asked Elijah who scratched the back of his head before glancing at the holographic display and then moving his fingers, manipulating the display to zoom in the area the dragon rules, showing multiple people and monsters on the screen.

"These are the factions in the faction of the dragon."

"The dragon doesn't truly care what his followers do as long as they don't cause it too much trouble, and it doesn't concern itself with other factions, only if some rare treasures or items appear will it make a move."

"Actually, on the top of the Empire State Building, which no longer exists, a rare mineral was found, that mineral is the reason it no longer exists as when it was uncovered, all factions went crazy and fought for it, only for the dragon to appear, destroy the entire building, killing many in the process, and claiming the mineral."

"The factions under the dragon are not really that friendly with one another, but they are also not hostile to one another as the dragon does not allow infighting under its banner. We have crossed paths with several of them, with some, namely the White Palace and the Muscle Association, the former being a faction of humans and the latter a faction of monsters, we have had a good relationship as neither of the two showed any hostility and instead were quite excited to talk to us and establish friendly relations."

"As for the other 3 factions we have made contact with, the Grayhounds, a faction that has both monsters and humans, has been neutral to us, not really showing any reaction towards us, while the Blood Legion and the Dragon Corps, both of which are mixed factions with both monsters and humans, have been hostile to us."

"Furthermore, there are 2 more factions under the dragon we have not come across yet, and one thing we know of is that every faction has a couple of Tier VII combatants."

Reign and the others nodded at Elijah and his explanation of the factions and their strengths. It was obvious that the dragon holds the advantage over all as it was the only Tier VIII being in the region, not to mention that it was not just a Tier VIII being, but a dragon, a being that was stronger than others of the same realm.

"I don't understand one thing though, aren't dragons usually born as higher beings, I mean, at birth they are Transcendents or Saints, right?" Beast suddenly asked, showing a confused expression on his face.